Angel
by StrawberryFunk
Summary: Dawn/Cyrus, Akatsukishipping.  Kind of got a lazy at the end, and might fix that up later.


It had been one year since he had fallen.

He stood at the edge of the Spear Pillar, staring blankly at the mountain below. He didn't care for this place; it brought back memories. His dream, his life's work, the thing that he had dedicated his existence to was crushed at this place by two mere children.

It had been one year. They were only eleven or twelve by now.

Curiously, he gazed at the ground at the very bottom of the mountain. What did death feel like, he wondered. After being forced out of the Distortion World by a vengeful Giratina and staying in hiding for the months after, knowing that his team was long disbanded and the public wouldn't be so keen on his return, he thought it couldn't have been much worse than what he was going through now. He would finally get what he wanted, to an extent - a world with no emotions. Only darkness.

"Cyrus."

The man turned, almost surprised by the quiet chirp of a voice. And yet he felt as though a small part of him expected to see the girl who had aided in his demise standing across from him by the stairs, her arms wrapped around her as she shivered with cold.

"Lucas wouldn't come," Dawn spoke, her voice just more than a fragile whisper. "He didn't believe me. He told me you were gone. That you might as well have been dead. That you weren't coming back..."

"I would have quite preferred it that way." He finally spoke, his tone as emotionless as it had always been, but wouldn't turn to face the child.

There was silence. He thought briefly about throwing himself over the edge right that moment simply to spite and scar the young girl. Her words snapped him out of his thinking.

"I don't think you're a completely bad guy. You just... don't understand." Her feet in their bulky, fuzzy boots shifted slightly. "You only look at the downside of things. You only get the bad emotions, not the good ones. But it isn't your fault, is it?"

"Emotions are a weakness."

"They're a strength," her voice rose. She was silent for a moment, and then went on in her strained whisper, "When Lucas and I battle together, we're stronger than ever. Because we're so close, we become stronger together. We care about each other and know each other well, and that makes us strong."

"You would be stronger if you simply based your strategies on tactics and not the 'power' of 'caring.'"

Dawn shifted slightly again and there was another strained silence. She tried again. "I saw a Kangaskhan the other day. They're only native to Kanto, and even then you don't find them there very often. They're preserved in special zoos."

She was silent again, as if expecting him to make a comment. He didn't, so she went on. "She had a baby in her pouch. And it was really sweet, the way she looked at and held it, like she never wanted to let go. She really loved that baby. And the man who owned the Kangaskhan... he said that the love between a mother and her child is one of the strongest, purest kinds of love that exists."

There was a horrible, pained silence as Dawn took a deep breath and said hesitantly, "But you wouldn't know... would you, Cyrus?"

He stiffened and his eyelid twitched involuntarily, telling himself that he must remain but he quickly regained his composure - but not before the girl noticed his discomfort.

"Lucas and I spoke to some of the residents at Sunyshore and there was an old couple who told us about you," she explained, "and how bright you were and how nice you used to be... And I think that maybe if somebody had really shown you love, you wouldn't have turned out so bad..."

"And what do you know?" The man finally snapped, whirling around and staring at Dawn, his face contorted with rage. She gasped quietly and leaned back slightly, her eyes widening with fear, and her hand flying to her mouth. She shivered as she took a deep breath and calmed herself. She mumbled something into her scarf, and Cyrus, on impulse, raised an eyebrow at her as he regained his own composure

"I would know," she quietly repeated herself, "My parents were always gone. It was different for me, because I had Rowan. But he had things to do, too, so I was alone a lot."

He turned away from her, facing towards the distant horizon again. He would not let himself snap again, he would not give into his emotions, he would not, he would not, he would not -

"You work hard for what you believe in and you're really smart. You build incredible machines and you could recite any Sinnoh myth to me, by heart, without even trying. You're a brilliant man, you just..."

He jumped slightly when he felt her small fingers on his arm - somehow, she had walked up without him even noticing. He looked down at her and saw... tears. Fat, round tears welling up in her eyes and dribbling down her cheeks as she looked up at him, almost pleading.

She didn't even need to finish speaking. Cyrus collapsed onto his knees, bringing the young girl who had defeated him one year earlier down with him, and she wrapped her arms around him and whispered, "I'll help you through this."

It had been one year. But when he heard that date, he would no longer think of it as the day of his downfall.

He would remember it as the day that his guardian angel came to save him.


End file.
